Transparently update parameter files (#2513)

Jürgen Knödlseder
1 parent cdb1e9ba
Showing 6 changed files with 20 additions and 33 deletions
ChangeLog
NEWS
doc/source/admin/release_history/1.6.rst
doc/source/help/faq.rst
src/ctools-setup.in
src/support/ctool.cpp
-2018-06-13
+2018-06-14
         * Version 1.6.0 released
         ========================
+        Transparently update parameter files (#2513)
         Change formula for number of true energy bins in csphagen (#2490)
         Remove ctools::is_valid_filename() method
         Fix bug when using precomputed model in csresspec (#2448)
 New Features and Important Changes in ctools 1.6.0
-13 June 2018
+14 June 2018
 Introduction
@@ -26,6 +26,11 @@ None
 Base classes
 ------------
+The ctool base class now loads the application parameters from the file provided
+in the "syspfiles" folder and updates parameter values using the file found in
+the user's "pfiles" folder, so that any change to the parameter file structure
+is handled transparently and no longer leads to an exception (#2513).
+
 The ctool::time_reference constant was removed since it is not required
 anymore. The time reference is now transparently handled by the tools, and
 if there is a choice, a "mjdref" parameter was added to the tools (#2054).
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ ctools 1.6 is a major release that adds significant functionality.
 In particular, this release provides:
 * Support for Xspec spectral analysis
+* Improved computation speed for :ref:`ctskymap` and :ref:`csphagen`
 Bug fixes
@@ -25,6 +26,8 @@ Bug fixes
 Improvements
 ------------
+* [`2513 <https://cta-redmine.irap.omp.eu/issues/2513>`_] -
+  Transparently update parameter files
 * [`2490 <https://cta-redmine.irap.omp.eu/issues/2490>`_] -
   Change formula for number of true energy bins in :ref:`csphagen`
 * [`2404 <https://cta-redmine.irap.omp.eu/issues/2404>`_] -
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ asked.
 - :ref:`What is the difference between ctools and GammaLib? <faq_ctools_gammalib>`
 - :ref:`Are ctools and GammaLib specific to CTA? <faq_instruments>`
 - :ref:`I want to upgrade ctools, do I have to upgrade GammaLib? <faq_upgrade>`
-- :ref:`Why does my ctool complain about missing parameters? <faq_pars>`
 - :ref:`Should I used binned or unbinned analysis? <faq_analysis>`
 - :ref:`How precise are ctools? <faq_precision>`
@@ -82,23 +81,6 @@ asked.
   ctools should then become more independent from GammaLib.
-.. _faq_pars:
-
-.. topic:: Why does my ctool complain about missing parameters?
-
-  After upgrading to a new ctools version, a ctool may issue the following
-  error
-
-  ``*** ERROR in GApplicationPars::operator[](std::string&): Invalid 
-  argument. Parameter "XXX" has not been found in parameter file.
-  Please specify a valid parameter name.``
-
-  This error may occur if some parameters have been added to a ctool and
-  you still have the old parameter file without that parameter sitting in
-  your pfiles folder. Simply erasing all files in the pfiles folder should
-  fix this problem.
-
-
 .. _faq_analysis:
 .. topic:: Should I used binned or unbinned analysis?
@@ -76,19 +76,6 @@ if [ -d $prefix/syspfiles/. ]; then
     syspfiles="$prefix/syspfiles$syspfiles"
   fi
-  # updates any existing PFILES if syspfiles are newer
-  for filename in $HOME/pfiles/*.par
-  do
-    parfile=`basename $filename`
-    sys_parfile=$prefix/syspfiles/$parfile
-    if [ -e "$sys_parfile" ]; then
-      if test "$sys_parfile" -nt "$filename"
-      then
-        cp -f "$sys_parfile" "$filename"
-      fi
-    fi
-  done
-
   # Set PFILES and PFCLOBBER environment variable
   PFILES="$locpfiles;$syspfiles"
   PFCLOBBER=1
@@ -258,6 +258,15 @@ void ctool::init_members(void)
     // Set language to english to make sure that a dot is a dot
     std::setlocale(LC_ALL, "en_US.UTF-8");
+    // Set parameter syspfiles and reload parameter file
+    char* ptr = std::getenv("CTOOLS");
+    if (ptr != NULL) {
+        std::string path = std::string(ptr) + "/syspfiles";
+        m_pars.clear();
+        m_pars.syspfiles(path);
+        m_pars.load(par_filename());
+    }
+
     // Return
     return;
 }